Leanne Franson

(Canada)

Leanne Franson is the creator of the 'Liliane' mini-comics, which has been running since 1992. There are now two collections available, 'Assume Nothing' and 'Teaching Through Trauma'. Franson's comic is autobiographical, centering on Liliane, a Canadian "bi-dyke". She concentrates less on strips than on extended essays, on various themes: her problems trying to get pregnant, working for a sex hotline, butches, the Michigan Womyn's Music Festival, relationship problems, etc.

Liliane, drawn as an oval with dots for eyes and no nose, has a day job as a children's book illustrator. Franson's general good humor account for the light feeling of the comic, despite the heavy themes that she sometimes takes on.